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Franchising focus: Amsterdam Falafelshop set for growth

With little knowledge of the restaurant industry, Matt D’Alessio said he invested solely off his passion for the brand. On the other end of the spectrum was his business partner, Laurence Wintersteen, who had recently been approached by restaurant groups inquiring about franchising his business.

With little knowledge of the restaurant industry, Matt D’Alessio said he invested solely off his passion for the brand

October 13, 2015

Although Boston Amsterdam Falafelshop franchisees Matt D’Alessio and Laurence Wintersteen boast very different backgrounds, they have one thing in common: A passion for the brand. While D’Alessio had no restaurant experience before becoming a franchisee, Winterseen had already owned and operated five sandwich shops when he partnered with D’Alessio to open his first Amsterdam location.

"I first tried Amsterdam Falafelshop when I was in undergrad at The George Washington University," said D’Alessio, who owns the Kenmore Square shop in Boston with Wintersteen as well as the Somerville, Maryland, shop. "The atmosphere of the shop and the outstanding falafel and frieten (fries) made a lasting impression on me. When I heard the concept was going to begin franchising, I knew I wanted to get involved."

With little knowledge of the restaurant industry, D’Alessio said he invested solely off his passion for the brand. On the other end of the spectrum was his business partner, Wintersteen, who had recently been approached by restaurant groups inquiring about franchising his business.

"After learning more about franchising, I quickly realized how much more I would enjoy being a franchisee," Wintersteen said. "When I learned how quickly Amsterdam Falafelshop grew in popularity in Washington D.C., I knew the concept and marketing efforts were working. Plus, it was the perfect time to get involved as fast casual top-it-yourself concepts are rapidly gaining in popularity amongst consumers."

The initial investment

D’Alessio and Wintersteen made a combined investment of $450,000 and plan to open other locations in Boston and in neighboring suburbs. Royalties are 5 percent the first year of operation and then increase to 6 percent.

"We are approached regularly by developers, but we want to be sure the sites we choose are the right fit for the brand," D’Alessio said. "Our current goal is to reach one million in sales, which we are our way to accomplishing. Once we reach that goal, we will continue to motivate the team and ourselves by setting new goals for the shops."

Why it works

The shop concept is simple, which makes it easy to teach to franchisees, said CEO Arianne Bennett. She began dreaming of opening a Falafelshop during a visit to Amsterdam in 2001, when she and her husband fell in love with the city’s culture, atmosphere and food.

"When we returned to Washington DC, we knew we wanted to share our Amsterdam experience with others," she said. "Our neighborhood of Adams Morgan would be a perfect place to introduce Amsterdam Falafelshop. Soon after we opened people kept asking for us to ‘come to their city’, ‘their neighborhood.' and those neighborhoods were everywhere. And if you look at the Yelp reviews in date order, you will see that in the first years the pattern was spreading from local postings to postings far away."

Franchisees, like D’Alessio and Wintersteen, are one of the main reasons the brand has succeeded, said Bennett, who describes herself as a "super hands-on CEO."

"We work hard to support the learning of the franchisee, the marketing efforts of the franchisee, and the shop’s continued success," she said. "In any way that the franchisee needs us, we are there. Learning, staffing, accounting, marketing, or anything they might need – we step up and try to support them as if they were our own shop."

Bennett strives to find franchisees who have demonstrated their desire and ability to uphold her standards of food quality and methods of engaging customers.

"Their added commitment to staffing their shops with employees who care about the food and hospitality makes them a franchisee that we seek," she said. "We firmly believe the experience must include these elements in order for the customers to embrace us in new markets."

The core of the experience is the food, however,

"We are blessed to have an incredible product, which is delicious, bursting with flavor, and unique in the marketplace," Bennett said. "We are not just another hamburger."

The growth plan

While only seven shops are now open, Bennett expects to launch more than 100 shops in the next five years. "The sky is the limit," said Bennett who noted sales goals are important but not everything.

"The most important to us is that each shop doesn’t feel like a 'copy' of the original, but instead 'genuine' in its own right, in its own community,"  she said.